Backgammon – Three Basic Schemes
In astonishingly simple terms, there are 3 basic strategies employed. You need to be agile enough to switch tactics quickly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you are able to achieve, to lock in the opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable strategy at the start of the game. You can build the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your opposer tosses an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is then in serious calamity taking into account that they have two checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or higher anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It needs to be employed when you are extremely behind as this plan much improves your circumstances. The better areas for anchors are close to your opponent’s lower points and either on abutting points or with one point in between. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: besides, there’s no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break down this right away, while your opposer is moving their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other spare pieces to move! In this situation, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your challenger to get them in this case!
